Used in a Sentence

literally

Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for literally.

Editorial note

They keep the rest, sometimes for doing literally nothing except paying you your salary in their own name.

Examples16
Definitions4
Parts of speech1

Quick take

Without overstatement or understatement, or false or misleading words.

Meaning at a glance

The clearest senses and uses of literally gathered in one view.

adverb

Without overstatement or understatement, or false or misleading words.

adverb

With phrasings that might normally be used or understood as figurative: truly; not figuratively; not as an idiom or metaphor.

adverb

Word for word, exactly as stated.

Definitions

Core meanings and parts of speech for literally.

adverb

Without overstatement or understatement, or false or misleading words.

adverb

With phrasings that might normally be used or understood as figurative: truly; not figuratively; not as an idiom or metaphor.

adverb

Word for word, exactly as stated.

adverb

As an intensifier.

Example sentences

1

They keep the rest, sometimes for doing literally nothing except paying you your salary in their own name.

2

But who will foot the bill for installing chargers at literally every single parking spot everywhere?

3

Its really hot, plus stress/exercise etc, it could literally be a health risk for some men.

4

It literally takes a second to submit using that handy little piece of JS code.

5

What's more, this enforces good object-orientation: this is a reimagining of the single-responsibility principle because closures are objects that literally do one thing.

6

I don't have a degree, and the subject has literally never once come up in an interview.

7

I basically kept my job and I literally cannot find people offering me what I make now.

8

If you are made to feel uncomfortable, then try another one or stop going altogether, there are literally zero negative consequences to it.

9

That's literally the description of consumers, to decide what to consume, how to use it, and what they are willing to give in exchange.

10

Defending the 1% is literally what he does for a living.

11

Internet for the people by the people, literally.

12

I've ran training sessions for internal enterprise software and the users literally could not remember there was a dialog mere seconds after dismissing it.

Quote examples

1

I mean, they literally had the "bad guy" go beat up a homeless man a few episodes in (it had nothing to do with the plot -- they just wanted to throw that in there) when his character became too sympathetic.

2

It was a ridiculous project, they had an India team that took the "just like Etsy" wording so literally that if I designed a screen that didn't look & function 100% identical to Etsy (ie: I improved it) they would have a hissy-fit.

Proper noun examples

1

Literally, they bet the whole company and a binder full of credit cards on Obama O's, a gimmick cereal.

2

Literally the only pre-interview cited rejection reason was a lack of degree.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.

How do you use literally in a sentence?

They keep the rest, sometimes for doing literally nothing except paying you your salary in their own name.

What does literally mean?

Without overstatement or understatement, or false or misleading words.

What part of speech is literally?

literally is commonly used as adverb.